Participating in government has little appeal to most. Unfortunately, the lack of participation puts our hard-earned standard of living at risk. In the fall a half-dozen arrogant, tactless, and politically vulnerable councilors will be up for re-election.

The council is in bad need of balance, so we need a few candidates from each even-numbered precinct. Taxpayers shouldn't have to go to court for a redress of political misfeasance.

The consequences of words and action are dramatically different than those of silence and inaction typically resulting in a dearth of candidates during elections. Experience is unnecessary for the task, but one should have purpose, direction, wisdom, destiny, results, honesty, empathy, and orientation.

Candidates should be anchored in reality, know the value of a dollar, and be afflicted with a lesser degree of obsessive compulsive disorder (the ability to sink your teeth into a matter is essential.)

Town government is in crisis, the full extent of which will become manifest within a few weeks. You must pick up your nomination papers from Barnstable Town Clerk soon to be eligible to resolve the town's problems later.

Elsewhere the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but here local government's good intentions are paving the hell out of a new road for us all to be homeless.

Brother or sister, can you spare some time?

Gary Lopez, Sr.

Centerville

Barry needs to be a better listener

In the June 17 edition of the Patriot, Barnstable Town Councilor Richard Barry had his turn to publish his thoughts on many town-related subjects. When he got to the ongoing issue of noise from the Barnstable Municipal Airport, I was very upset by his comments. He said that people continue to buy property near the airport yet they complain about the noise that was there before most of them bought their property. His advice to property owners offended by airport noise is, "If you don't like the noise don't buy property near the airport or if it is too noisy move someplace else." Such compassion.

Mr. Barry's attitude is offensive to me. I am appalled by his "if you don't like it get out of town" attitude. The airport is a couple of miles north of my house and we endure the endless rev ups as airplane engines are tested at all hours of the night with the blessing, by official policy, of the Airport Commission. The planes start buzzing off to Nantucket at 5:30 a.m. daily and continue all day. We used to call the airport noise complaint line but stopped because nothing changed. Noise from the airport is not just a Hyannis issue because the citizens of Yarmouth have made their displeasure known also. Perhaps in his next report Mr. Barry will suggest that the people of Yarmouth offended by airport noise should move out too.

Excessive noise is a quality of life issue. Airport noise is an issue that cannot be dealt with by telling people to cover their ears or get out of town. Mr. Barry needs to get his fingers out of his ears and remember that he is a Barnstable Town Councilor and that Hyannis is part of Barnstable and therefore he should be working toward a solution to the problem.

Peter L. Cross

Hyannis

The writer describes himself as a "native Cape Codder - born and raised in Hyannis."

Wind farm foes fail to see the big picture

Many still search for the reality of Wind Power. Are bigger turbines just as peaceful and natural as the new small turbine beside Cape Cod Tech in Harwich, the modest-size unit at IBEW's building next to Route 93 south of Boston, or the larger turbine beside the high school's football field in Hull (whose satisfied residents requested a second turbine)? Or would Cape Wind's proposed offshore turbines be an "industrial complex" if placed on Horseshoe Shoal, as the Alliance describes with threatening words and zoomed pictures.

On Father's Day, the peaceful reality was seen standing tall, next to a Cape Cod Baseball League game and near children happily playing in sand, swinging, and climbing play ladders, by restfully glancing at Cape Cod Tech's 125-foot-high wind turbine. This simple turbine was constructed and raised in the preceding six days, in a practical workshop sponsored by local environmental organization Cape & Islands Self-Reliance Corp.

But a contrary, imaginary "reality" of the Cape Wind project is portrayed in opponents' posters of an outdated Electric Service Platform (ESP), and their ads which propagandize that Nantucket Sound will be overpowered by the towers. They don't mention that the towers and ESP will in total occupy only one and one-half acres of the Sound's watersheet, nor that the perimeter of the one-third to one-half-mile-apart towers will enclose less than 5 percent of the Sound's area.

Real wind power is as American as apple pie and ice cream at a wood-bat baseball game on Cape Cod . and healthier children rollicking nearby with far fewer harmful emissions in the air they breathe and we homeowners or tenants avoiding the continual escalation of electricity prices caused by sky-rocketing gas and oil fuel costs.

Or envision instead a real "industrial complex" -- Cape Cod Canal's oil-fired plant, Fall River's coal-fired plant: or Plymouth's nuclear plant with still-deadly "spent" fuel rods stored in cooling pools - all surrounded by fences, dependent on often malfunctioning alarms, and guarded against terrorism by air patrols. And we Cape Codders would have to drive toward this danger if an accident occurred! Would you prefer one of these wind farm alternatives nearby, in your or someone else's backyard?

It's past time for the vocal opponents of Cape Wind's project to learn what 21st century wind turbines are really like - by visiting any of our nearby wind turbines, surfing the Internet, or going to see one or more of the many successful offshore projects abroad. World experience has universally proven the gentle, low-cost reality of modern Wind -- an energy source which is free and forever! Wind Power -- the People's Vision.

James E. Liedell

YarmouthPort Fadely offered music and more

Having recently been notified of the death of Nancy Fadely (Barnstable Patriot, June 10) I find myself compelled to write. Nancy was my piano teacher in the '60s. Being an Air Force brat we moved a lot, but Nancy was a constant. We were neighbors in Hawaii for many years. Her daughters, Cindy and Becky, performed at my wedding.

What I remember best was her attention to detail and the gifts we received at recitals. And yes, we were taught to curtsey ever so properly. She was task master when it came to practicing, and living next door she always knew. Our families were close for many years and we have wonderful memories of our time together. She was a wonderful lady who gave more of herself than she ever expected to receive in return and she will be sorely missed. Sharon Thompson Stewart

Cedar Park, Tex.

Vets say thanks

The Dennis F. Thomas VFW Post 2578 in Hyannis would like to extend their thanks to all who participated and sponsored our first "Support The Troops" VFW Golf Tournament. All proceeds went to purchase Operation Uplink calling cards for the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. The tournament was held on June 4.